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Archive for July, 2014

Issue #75 of Australian Muscle Car winds the clock back to the 1970s! We highlight a quartet of Aussie classics that were more ‘show’ than ‘go’ – the HQ Monaro GTS 253 auto, Falcon Cobra 4.9-litre auto, Valiant GLX and Rambler Hornet. These were muscular-looking cars that lacked punch.

AMC doesn’t expect this edition’s Sheep in Wolves’ Clothing cover story to appeal to people for whom quarter mile times are everything. It’s a yarn for folk with an appreciation for flashy looks and muscular stances.

So what makes a ‘sheep’ in AMC’s eyes?

We set some basic criteria. Firstly, our sheep had to be: built in Australia, factory-spec, able to be purchased by a member of the public and have been built in sufficient numbers that they were widely available in their day. Above all else, they needed to be slower than their appearance suggested. If looks could kill…

AMC also chats to Stirling Moss about his ill-fated assault on Bathurst 1976 with Sir Jack Brabham in a Holden Torana SL/R 5000 L34. We find out how this dream team came about and what became of the car they raced that day.

We also profile Queensland racing stalwart John English. The John English in this story never sang Six Ribbons and doesn’t have a TV Week Logie in his trophy cabinet. Nor did he play Judas Iscariot in Jesus Christ Superstar. But he does have the nickname of ‘Hollywood Seven’.

To mark the fabled Holden Sandman’s 40th, AMC shares some never before published designs for the iconic panel van that ended up on the cutting room floor.

AMC now features a regular double-sided poster. This time we salute the Holden Torana A9X and Pete Geoghegan’s Super Falcon.

We pay a visit to Savy Motorsport in Melbourne. With multiple Touring Car Masters championships under his belt, master engine builder Dick Savy is quickly building a name for himself.

As to our new ‘Sacred Sites’ section, we also check out what remains of Longford, Tasmania. Given the monster crashes and tragic events, it was amazing that racing on this public road circuit lasted for as long as it did.

Our series on the cars that have won the Bathurst classic continues with the Sierra that was an unlikely race victor in 1988, driven by Tony Longhurst and Tomas Mezera.

Fans of our Out of Action section should check out the classic Aussie muscle cars photographed recently on the NSW North Coast that are just rusting away.